Conveyer system.



Y PATENTED MAR. ze. 1904. c. BBRQHOEPBYR. GONVEYBR SYSTEM.`

v No. 755,606. PA'ITIIITED MAR. 29, 1904.

C. BERGHOEFER. CONVEYER SYSTEM.

APPLICATION' FILED uRjzp. 1903. I No MODEL. a SHEETS-SHEET a.

N .f EM WIU ESSES- MQ IFELUR;

" No. 755,606. PATBNTED MAR. 29, 1904.

c. BERGEOEFER. GONVBYER SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED APB.. 25. 1903.

N0 HODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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UNrrn Samaras Patented March 29, 1904.

idr-firent erica,

onervaren erstarrt 'SISECIFIGATIQN forming para of Letters retenu No. 755,606, dated' Maren 29, 190e. V

` Application led April 25, 1903. Serial No. 154,243t (llo modal.)

To all whom, tammy concern:y

Be it known that l, CHARLES Bmaeionrnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of lllilnois, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Conveyor Systemshof which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to conveyers, and refers particularly to a loading and unloading system having a movable bridge for spanning the storage dock or yard upon which the systern .is erected. i

The invention further refers to a cable system for said conveyor and to the adaptation of said cable system to themovable bridge.

l The invention further refers to improvements in the general structure and arrangement of the parts of said conveyor system.

ln the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a diagrammatic top plan view of a conveyer system embodying this invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the system, being partially brokeniaway. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view ondottcd lineY 3 3 of Fig. l, showing the driving means for the cable. Fig. 4 illustrates one of the stationary curves in the traction-track.

In the embodiment herein shown the invention is adapted to a dock for loading or unloading vessels moored thereto, and referring i. to the drawings, A indicates the` top of the dock, A rails along the water edge thereof, and A2 a loading-tower movably mounted on said rails to bring said tower to the desired position to load or unload a vessel lying at lthe dock. The loading-tower A2 is ot' coinJ monv construction Vand comprises a clam-shell elevating mechanism (not, shown) and a delivery-spout A3 for conveyingmthc material elevated by the clam-shells nechanism to the 'conveyer system, the sub. .t of thisinvention. i

On the doclrA, just bacnerrom the track A and mounted upon suitable supports, is an elevated platform B, to be hereinafter re- Y erred to as the front )latlorrn and at some distance rearward from said front platform and extending parallel therewith isa back platform B, also elevated above the dock A. The ele- .ing the bridge B3.

vated platforms B and B' are eachprovided with aA rail B2, extending along their-inner edges throughout their entire length, and' these rails support a traveling bridge B3, the i wheels B4l of said bridge resting on said rails* Blkwhereby the bridge is capable of moverent to any point in the length of said plattornis B and BU At one end of the dock the` platforms B and B are joined by means of the end platformB, also elevated to correspond with the platforms it connects.`

Atraction-track C is elevated by means of a structure C above the` platforms B, B', and-` and extends twice acioss the length of the front platformB, traversing also the endpltform B5 and the'back platform B and cross- For convenience in refersay 4ence I have indicated'theseveral straight por'- tiens-'pf this traction-track as c', c3, c5, cl, and c and the intervening connecting-curves as (3,

c", c6, c, and cl. The curves cs and cw extend in opposite directions and are fixed at the ends.. of the bridge-track e9, being carriedby said bridge, of which they are apart. The free ends of these curved portions ofv track are flattened in order to slide upon and communicate with the straight lengths of track c' and 'c7 upon the front and rear platforms B and B',

respectively. lf it be desirable or necessary, the free ends of these curve-sections c and c may be carried upon small wheels and plates (not shown) laid within the rails of the tracksections c' and c7 for said wheels.

A.' cable D is adapted to traverse the lcircuit of this conveyor system, said cable being supported upon the sheaves- D, placed' between the rails of the tractiontracl C at suitable in- Y tervals throughout "the length of said track, and at the curves of said track is guided by the sheaves D2. To travel the cable D, a driving mechanism of any suitable construction is provided in the structure or at any convenient pointadjacent thereto. In this instance it has been placed .in the structure supporting the end .platform Bland comprises a driving-drum lil, an auxiliary drum E', and a tightener-pulley E2, said latter pulley being supported in a carriage E3, having the usual counterweight EL to hold the cable taut. As will be understood, the cable makes several turns about the driving-drum E and the auxiliary drum E and from the tightener-pulley E2 to the circuit passes over a guide-sheave and from the circuit to the driving-drum E over a similar sheave E6.

Grip dumping-cars F of common construc tion-are adapted to engage the cable D and be drawn by it upon the track C around the' cable-circuit.

In operation the loadingtower A2 is moved upon its track into a convenient position to load or unload a vessel lying' at the dock. l/Ve will say for the purpose of this description that the vessel is to be unloaded and its cargo placed upon the dock. rlhe elevating mechanism in the tower raises portions of said cargo, and by means of the loading-chute A3 the material is placed in the grip-cars F, standing upon the sections 03 of the traction system C. When the car is filled, its grip mechanism is caused to engage the cable D, and the travel of ,said cable causes said car to be moved along the sections c3 of the track C, around the curve c2, along the section c to the curve el, around said curve, and onto the bridge tracksection c. At the proper point on the bridge the car is dumped and its contents thrown onto. the dock A. The movement of the car, however, continues with the cable, .and it passes 01T from the bridge-section of track ci' .over the curvev o, along the section around the curve 05,'over the section c, around vthe curvec, and on the track c3 to the startingpoint, Where it is disconnected from the cable D, again loaded, and started on its Way around the circuit just described. 1When that portion of the track beneath the bridge becomes filled, said bridge may be moved along its rails into a new position and the work of unloading the vessel at the dock continued, for, as will be seen, theV length of cable on the circuit is neither increased nor diminished by a change in the position of said bridge relatively to the remainder of the system.

Vi' hen it is necessary to reverse the opera tion and load vessels from the dock, va clamshell mechanism is mounted upon the bridge and the material lying upon the dock transferred to the hold of the vessel.

The apparatus herein described is susceptible of many modilications in the form and arrangement of its parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, wherefore I desire to have it understood that I do not limit myself to the particular form herein shown.

I claim as my invention-- 1. In a conveyer system, in combination, an endless traction-track, one portion of which is movable relatively to other portions thereof; and a cable-circuit on said traction-track.

2. In a conveyer system, in combination,

two parallel stationary su pporting structures;

a stationary structure connecting one end of said parallel structures; a structure extending between said parallel structures and movable longitudinally thereof; an endless tractiontrack upon said structures; and a cable-circuit on said traction-track.

3. In a conveyer system, in combination, a stationary track comprising three parallel sections and a section uniting the two outer parallel sections; and a movable section uniting one of the outer parallel sections with the intermediatev parallel section.

y4. 4In a con'veyer system, in combination, a stationary trackcomprising three parallel sections and a section uniting the two outer parallel sections; a movable section uniting one of the outer parallel sections with the intermediate parallel section; a cable-circuit on said stationary and movable sections; and

means for traveling the cable.

5. vIn a conveyer system, in combination, a stationary track comprising three parallel sections and a section uniting the two outer parallel sections; a movable section uniting one of the outer parallel sections with the intermediate parallel section; anda loading-tower movable longitudinally of one of the outer parallel sections of track.

CHAR-LES BERGHOEFER.

Witnesses:

L. K UEBLEP., L. L. MILLER. 

